Update from Carlie

The week spent in Da Tsun was above and beyond anything that I could have asked for. The children (most of them anyways) loved talking, playing, singing and laughing with all of the workers. They were just so cute and it was so hard to keep from taking them home with us! Our co-workers have a faith and connection to God that is so real and so close. Hearing them pray and share their stories throughout the week was such an encouragement. The community within this fellowship was something every group should strive for; confronting the leaders’ and the kids’ problems with love and prayer assured that all would be resolved. By the end of the week, I felt like we had become one big family that shared everything and cared deeply for one another.

After a heart-wrenching goodbye, we left Da Tsun and are now at Qi (pronounced Chi) Gu Elementary School getting to know our co-workers from NCKU. It is Tuesday night and I am beginning to be acquainted with the co-workers’ personalities and I know that they love the Lord and want to share His love to these children just as much as we do! The first day of class with the new group of kids has been such a blessing. These children are from the countryside villages and love the co-workers’ attention of hugs, hand games, and piggy-back rides. Last week and this week there has been a child in my group that will not sit still or do anything that you ask. In Da Tsun, there was an especially large girl, Lin, and this week it is an especially tiny boy, Alex. These are the kids you want to leave the class just so the others can have some quiet and won’t be influenced to do wrong. There was much praying for both of these children and through the power of God, both children were the first in the class to invite us to visit their home and speak with their families! God definitely formed these situations as such so that the co-workers can have to chance to have an impact in their families’ lives. These two family visits are so mind-blowing when you see the situations that produced them. I cannot wait to see what God has in store for us and these kids during the rest of this week!

I want to thank you to everyone who has prayed for the kids’ hearts. Continue to pray that their hearts will be softened so that they may realize why we have come. Please keep all of the co-workers in your prayers that we may love and hold these children with God’s everlasting love.